Michelle L. Roehm

The moderating effect of knowledge and resources on the persuasive impact of analogies

Four experiments were conducted to examine the persuasive impact of new product appeals containing an analogy. An analogy highlights the similarity in the benefits offered by a familiar base product and an unfamiliar target product. This device is found to be persuasive when (a) message recipients have the ability to map attribute relations from some base category to understand the benefits of a target product, and (b) they allocate the substantial resources needed to complete this mapping. In the absence of either of these conditions, the persuasive impact of an analogy is more limited. A variety of devices, including expertise with the base product, training in how to process base information, and a positive mood, are shown to improve the comprehension of an analogy and to enhance its persuasiveness. Copyright 2001 by the University of Chicago.

When Will a Brand Scandal Spill Over, and How Should Competitors Respond?

Three experiments identify conditions under which a brand scandal spills over and negatively affects attitudes and beliefs about the product category and about competing brands. The research also examines factors that may enhance or reduce the likelihood of spillover effects and strategies for responding to scandal spillover.

Designing Loyalty-Building Programs for Packaged Goods Brands

The authors investigate the effects of loyalty programs on loyalty to packaged goods brands. Findings from a series of experiments indicate that the incentive that is offered in a loyalty program is important to whether the program succeeds or fails at building brand loyalty. The data reported suggest that incentives that have overlap with brand associations, which the authors term cue-compatible incentives, can prompt rehearsal that increases the accessibility of favorable brand associations. This, in turn, helps boost postprogram loyalty. At the same time, incentives that are tangible or concrete can undermine postprogram loyalty. This seems to occur because elaboration is attracted to the incentive at the expense of the brand. Incentive associations may thus gain in accessibility and interfere with access to brand associations.

Retail segmentation using artificial neural networks

Abstract Advances in information technology (e.g., scanner data, cookies, and other electronically based data collection methodologies) have enabled researchers to collect unprecedented amounts of individual-level customer data. As a result, customer databases are becoming increasingly larger and more complex, and may tax the capabilities and exacerbate the shortcomings of the techniques currently used to analyze them. To address this challenge, we examine the use of artificial neural networks (ANNs) as an alternative means of segmenting retail databases. In particular, we investigate the Hopfield–Kagmar (HK) clustering algorithm, an ANN technique based on Hopfield networks, and empirically compare it to K -means and mixture model clustering algorithms. Our results indicate that ANNs may be more useful to retailers for segmenting markets because they provide more homogeneous segmentation solutions than mixture model and K -means clustering algorithms, and are less sensitive to initial starting conditions.

Revisiting the effect of positive mood on variety seeking

Prior research indicates that variety seeking (VS) behaviors increase in the presence of mild positive mood. However, extant studies are not informative about VS outcomes with more extreme positive moods. It is theorized that extreme positive moods may often be associated with decreases in VS, because the rather moderate stimulation to be gained from VS is not sufficient to meet the demands of an extreme positive mood. Two experiments and two pilot tests are consistent with an updated theoretical account of positive mood and VS that is proposed.

Consumer responses to performance failures by high-equity brands

Two experiments explore conditions that mitigate negative customer reactions to high-equity brand failures. Results indicate that such brands fare best when responses are timed immediately after the failure and when the failure is severe or there is substantial distraction present in the environment. When any of these conditions are absent, high-equity brand evaluations appear to be adversely affected by a performance lapse. Implications, particularly for service brands, are discussed.

Instrumental vs. Vocal Versions of Popular Music in Advertising

ABSTRACT The present research examines recall for advertising messages that are presented via two musical formats: either via an instrumental version of a popular song or via a vocal version. For individuals who are familiar with the song, recall of the message is greater when an instrumental version of the song appears than when a vocal version of the song appears. This finding is attributed to the greater likelihood that familiar consumers will sing along with the instrumental version and thus generate the lyrics that carry the message. Generating lyrics causes the message to be more memorable than simply listening to lyrics. For individuals who are not familiar with the song, recall of the message implied by the lyrics is greater when a vocal version appears in the advertisement than when an instrumental version appears. Unfamiliar consumers, who cannot sing along with the song and generate the lyrics, require lyrics to be presented in order to derive the intended message.

Evaluating the Appropriateness of Market Segmentation Solutions Using Artificial Neural Networks and the Membership Clustering Criterion

The “appropriateness” of a given segmentation solution is a key consideration in all marketing segmentation studies. By appropriate, it is meant that not only has the optimal segmentation solution been identified, but also that the proper number of segments to market to has been correctly specified. This research focuses on the second, and more fundamental, issue of determining the appropriate number of segments in a marketplace. If the appropriate number of segments is over-specified, marketers may over-segment the market and treat audience segments separately that could effectively be treated inclusively. Conversely, if the appropriate number of segments is under-specified, marketers may under-segment the market and fail to identify distinct, viable segments that should be marketed to separately.The issue of market under- and over-segmentation may be addressed with the membership clustering criterion (MCC), an analytical technique based on fuzzy sets derived from artificial neural networks (mathematical models of animal nervous systems). Using artificial and real world data sets, we empirically test the MCC, compare it to existing methods for determining the number of segments in a market, and demonstrate its advantages in evaluating the appropriateness of marketing to different numbers of market segments.

The Advantage of Hybrid Split Ads Over Uninterrupted Ads and How to Augment it

Abstract“Split ads” involve presenting advertising information as two separate and distinct parts, such as when two short commercials for a given brand are separated by other television content. An emerging form of the split ad strategy combines a short ad in one medium with a second short ad that appears in a completely different medium. Two studies investigate the relative effectiveness of such “hybrid split ads”. In particular, we explore a form of the hybrid split ad strategy that is gaining in popularity and that involves combining an ad in a traditional medium with an addendum ad on a web site. Results of Experiment 1 indicate that a hybrid split ad can produce more positive attitudes toward an advertised product than a traditional uninterrupted ad. This seems to occur, because the hybrid split ad focuses particular attention on information contained in its latter half. In Experiment 2, we further show that varying the difficulty with which the latter half of a hybrid split ad is accessed can enhance the amount of added weight given to information in its latter half and can thus further enhance attitudes.

Valuing the Salesperson: Assessing Financial Consequences of B2B Customer Loyalty

This research attempts to assess the consequences of customer loyalty toward business-to-business salespersons, extend our understanding of B2B customer loyalty and offer a possible new performance metric for the sales force. The purpose of this research is to explore the following propositions: Customers and salespeople understand that the salesperson can add value to the relationship. The value of customer loyalty to a salesperson can be determined, just like any other asset to the firm.